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All day Saturday, youth ages 12-17 took part in the Pheasants Forever- and St. James Longbeards-sponsored Youth Hunt at the Watonwan County Game and Fish Club.
Forty-six kids attended the day long affair at the club just miles outside St. James. The kids were split into two groups: experienced and beginners.
Experienced youth hunters got the first crack at the pheasants Saturday morning. After a gun safety seminar and a rundown of expectations by Don Mackey, the kids went out for the hunt.
The inexperienced crew of youngsters stayed behind in the morning and took part in activities that both sharpened their shooting skills and their outdoorsman knowledge. Under the guidance of volunteers from Watonwan County’s Pheasants Forever group, the kids took turns in trap shooting, archery, tying fishing lures, and shooting black-powdered rifles. Meanwhile, in the morning, the experienced kids started in on spotting and shooting the pheasants.
In all, the kids bagged 68 birds on land lent by Terry Bergeman and Jim Krogstad. The birds came from a number that were released by the Pheasants Forever group. Dennis Malmgren, a main organizer in this event and supplier of the hunting photos in this week’s paper, says the inexperienced hunters had just as much luck as the expert youth hunters. He says the extra training early on helped in that area.
The group of 46 was diverse. Malmgren says about one-third were girls and 16 were from the metro area. And Saturday was a beautiful day weather-wise. According to Malmgren, the weather’s been great in each one of the seven youth hunts.
Pheasants Forever currently has 80 acres of land they keep as Conservation Reclaim Project (CRP) land. They are also in the process of purchasing 155 acres and are planning to acquire 160 more acres. All land lies between Madelia and La Salle.
“With these land acquisitions we’re getting, it gives everybody a place to hunt,” says Malmgren.
All day Saturday, youth ages 12-17 took part in the Pheasants Forever- and St. James Longbeards-sponsored Youth Hunt at the Watonwan County Game and Fish Club.
Forty-six kids attended the day long affair at the club just miles outside St. James. The kids were split into two groups: experienced and beginners.
Experienced youth hunters got the first crack at the pheasants Saturday morning. After a gun safety seminar and a rundown of expectations by Don Mackey, the kids went out for the hunt.
The inexperienced crew of youngsters stayed behind in the morning and took part in activities that both sharpened their shooting skills and their outdoorsman knowledge. Under the guidance of volunteers from Watonwan County’s Pheasants Forever group, the kids took turns in trap shooting, archery, tying fishing lures, and shooting black-powdered rifles. Meanwhile, in the morning, the experienced kids started in on spotting and shooting the pheasants.
In all, the kids bagged 68 birds on land lent by Terry Bergeman and Jim Krogstad. The birds came from a number that were released by the Pheasants Forever group. Dennis Malmgren, a main organizer in this event and supplier of the hunting photos in this week’s paper, says the inexperienced hunters had just as much luck as the expert youth hunters. He says the extra training early on helped in that area.
The group of 46 was diverse. Malmgren says about one-third were girls and 16 were from the metro area. And Saturday was a beautiful day weather-wise. According to Malmgren, the weather’s been great in each one of the seven youth hunts.
Pheasants Forever currently has 80 acres of land they keep as Conservation Reclaim Project (CRP) land. They are also in the process of purchasing 155 acres and are planning to acquire 160 more acres. All land lies between Madelia and La Salle.
“With these land acquisitions we’re getting, it gives everybody a place to hunt,” says Malmgren.
